Judge given wide brief to look into ICAC

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An acting Supreme Court justice, Jerrold Cripps, QC, has been appointed by the NSW Government to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Justice Cripps has been given a wide brief to review the powers of the ICAC, the definition of corrupt conduct and the types of public bodies the commission can investigate.

However, the Premier, Bob Carr, has ruled out any move to combine ICAC with any other corruption fighting body, such as the Police Integrity Commission, insisting as part of the terms of references that it must remain a stand-alone body.

However, the review may alter the commission's scope, and may lead to a name change.

In recent years ICAC has come under fire because of its poor conviction record, its reliance on "naming and shaming" and a perception that it has become politicised.

The parliamentary committee that oversees it found in a recent report that between 1998 and 2003 there were findings of corrupt conduct for 69 people but only 29 (about 42 per cent) were convicted of an offence. The remainder were not prosecuted or the prosecution failed. In several cases the successful prosecutions were not for corrupt conduct but for perjury under ICAC's act.

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Justice Cripps has been asked to review the scope of the bodies covered by ICAC. He will also consider whether the act should apply not just to state public agencies and public officials but should continue to apply to local government, government businesses, outsourced government functions and MPs.

His report is due to go to the Governor by October 29. This will enable the incoming ICAC commissioner, who will replace Irene Moss, to accept the position knowing what the commission is likely to look like. Ms Moss has announced she will retire in November.

A spokesman for ICAC said: "We welcome the appointment, we welcome the terms of reference and we look forward to assisting him in any way."

Justice Cripps was formerly chief justice of the Land and Environment Court and a judge of the Court of Appeal.